Genome-wide association study for yield-related traits in sesame (Sesamum Indicum)

Sesame is an important oil crop in Ethiopia and other regions in terms of both area coverage and production. However, productivity is low due to biotic and abiotic stresses. Therefore, dissecting the genetic basis of quantitatively inherited yield-related traits is instrumental to developing stable and high-yielding varieties. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed with a diverse set of 300 sesame accessions tested in two environments and 2997 SNP markers. In total, 21 significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) were detected for seven yield-related traits, including days to flower initiation (DFI), days to 50% flowering (DF), days to physiological maturity (DM), capsule length (CAPL), seeds per capsule (SPC), 1000-seed weight (TSW) and bacterial blight (BBL). The majority of MTAs detected on LG 3, 7 and 8 were associated with traits related to physiological periods. Dissecting genetic control of flowering time and maturity has a pivotal contribution to fostering sesame breeding and developing new varieties adaptable to changing climatic conditions. Our GWAS results will assist in incorporating alleles into the elite sesame germplasm through marker-assisted selection.